Prairie Island Indian Community reaches $1 million in donations

ST. PAUL --The National Hockey League's (NHL) Minnesota Wild is pleased to announce that by the end of the 2019-20 season, the Prairie Island Indian Community will have donated $1 million in total giving to the Minnesota Wild Foundation since its inception in 2009. A commemorative pre-game check presentation took place at the Wild game on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Xcel Energy Center, as part of the first-ever Native American Heritage night presented by Prairie Island Indian Community, and featured representatives from the Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council, the Minnesota Wild Foundation and the Minnesota Wild.

"Thanks to their generosity, the Prairie Island Indian Community, has shown tremendous support and dedication to youth hockey in Minnesota," said Minnesota Wild Foundation Executive Director Rachel Schuldt. "We are grateful for this partnership that allows us to contribute to something that we all feel is very important - helping preserve the great hockey tradition in Saint Paul and helping families afford to play the game they love."
The Prairie Island Indian Community gifted the Wild Foundation a $125,000 donation when it first launched in 2009. Following the first year of launch, the Prairie Island Indian Community has participated in a match program for Wild game programs sold at every home game each season. With those proceeds, the Wild Foundation has granted over $414,000 to Minnesota Hockey to support youth and amateur hockey across the state as well as their Disabled Hockey programs such as Special Hockey, Sled Hockey, Blind Hockey and Warrior Hockey. Additionally, the foundation has granted over $437,000 in scholarships to youth hockey players in four Saint Paul Hockey Associations: Johnson Como North St. Paul, Capital, Edgcumbe and Langford Park. A total of 1,008 scholarships were awarded to kids across these four associations over 10 seasons. The scholarships have helped keep youth players on the ice by covering expenses their families may not otherwise have been able to provide. The Minnesota Wild have 11 remaining home games at which the Prairie Island Indian Community will match Wild game program sales to benefit the Wild Foundation.
"Our tribe is active and engaged in Minnesota, and giving back is integral to who we are as Dakota people," says Shelley Buck, Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council President. "Our partnership with the Wild gives us a platform to share our story and celebrate our culture with the community."
The Wild organization launched the Minnesota Wild Foundation in 2009 in order to dedicate its unique resources to support children's medical causes and to advance youth hockey throughout the State of Hockey. This month, the Minnesota Wild Foundation begins its 10-year anniversary celebration.

About Minnesota Wild Foundation

The 2019-20 season marks the tenth season of giving for the Minnesota Wild Foundation. With support from Wild players, fans and donors, the Wild Foundation has supported children's medical related causes, serves as the largest non-member funding source for Minnesota Hockey, and has provided important fundraising opportunities for youth hockey associations across the state. Since its inception in 2009, the Wild Foundation has distributed more than $4 million in grants to hockey organizations and children's medical related charities and dispersed over $2 million to local charities through its Split the Pot Raffle Program. Help us celebrate an amazing ten years of giving and join our Give 10 campaign by donating $10 or any denomination of 10 to help us continue our mission of supporting the game of hockey and improving the lives of families across Minnesota. Together we create a Greater State of Hockey! For more information and to make a donation visit
www.wild.com/foundation
or contact us at
[email protected]
or 651-602-6000. Follow the Minnesota Wild Foundation on
Twitter
,
Facebook
and
Instagram
.

About the Prairie Island Indian Community

The Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) is a sovereign Dakota nation located on the Prairie Island Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The Mdewakanton, "those who were born of the waters," have lived on Prairie Island for countless generations. Located in Southeastern Minnesota along the wooded shores of the Mississippi and Vermilion Rivers, Prairie Island is a spiritual place for our people.
Prairie Island owns and operates Treasure Island Resort & Casino. We call gaming the new buffalo because it has helped us restore our self-sufficiency. It is responsible for improving life on the reservation, strengthening our Tribal Government, and helping to preserve our culture. Indian Gaming is what gives our Tribal Government the tools we need to operate our community and provide for our people. But it also has given us a new and welcomed responsibility as an employer to thousands of Minnesotans. We are proud to be Goodhue County's largest employer and an important contributor to Minnesota's economy. On the web:
http://prairieisland.org/